Standard and Poor’s Upgrades Moore County’s Bond Rating

Moore County is pleased to provide the following information regarding standard and poor’s recent decision to raise Moore County’s bond rating. During the May 2018 primary, Moore County voters approved $103,000,000 General Obligation Bonds for Moore County Schools which will primarily be used to build 3 new elementary schools. The bond rating improvement comes in advance of the planned first issuance of $31,000,000 in GO bonds for the Area III Aberdeen Elementary school project which will be an 800 student K-5 school located on Highway 5 and will replace the two existing Aberdeen School campuses. Moore County Leadership feels the rating improvement is well deserved and is very appreciative of Standard and Poor’s recognition of Moore County’s many strengths and positive attributes.

S&P Global Ratings raised its rating to ‘AA+’ from ‘AA’ on Moore County, NC’s existing GO debt, and also raised its rating to ‘AA’ from ‘AA-‘on its existing limited-obligation debt.

At the same time, S&P Global Ratings assigned it ‘AA+’ rating to the county’s series 2018 general obligation (GO) bonds.

The outlook for all ratings is stable.

The rating action reflects our view of Moore County’s ability to maintain strong financial performance and flexibility while managing a growing debt burden related to its significant capital needs. It also reflects management’s willingness to support the debt with additional resources as needed, such as a proposed one-fourth cent sales tax that will go for voter approval in November, as well as a potential property tax increase in fiscal 2020.